Bill > HB2872

This bill aims to improve literacy among elementary school students by revising how teacher training programs approach reading instruction and by establishing new requirements for reading assessments and interventions. It mandates that teacher preparation programs must include training in the core components of reading, such as phonemic awareness and phonics, and explicitly prohibits instruction in or endorsement of the "three-cueing system," a method of teaching reading that relies on meaning, structure, and visual cues, as a decoding strategy. The bill also establishes the "Missouri Advisory Board for Educator Preparation" (MABEP) to advise on educator preparation programs and creates an "Evidence-based Reading Instruction Program Fund" to support initiatives for improving student literacy. Furthermore, it introduces a standardized "Missouri Reading Screener" for students in kindergarten through third grade to identify reading deficiencies and dyslexia, with specific protocols for creating "reading success plans" for at-risk students. A significant provision is the "Read to be Ready Program," which, starting in July 2027, requires students in first through third grade who do not meet state reading objectives to receive reading improvement instruction, and students with substantial reading deficiencies at the end of third grade will generally not be promoted to fourth grade unless they qualify for a "good cause exemption," such as having an individualized education plan or being an English language learner with limited English instruction. The bill also requires school districts and charter schools to maintain publicly accessible financial ledgers and to report on student retention and promotion policies, including data on reading deficiencies and the use of good cause exemptions for promotion.